Economic Theory of Trauma

In some part, this has led to the development of what I am calling my “economic theory of trauma” (Malecek, 2010). What I have done is transposed psychological theory into economic theory in the following manner. Suppose one has only a limited amount of money ($100) to spend on daily activities, including eating, sleeping, etc. Let us further suppose that of that set amount, one must use a certain portion thereof to maintain, obviate, or obfuscate the memories of past trauma, or the sequelae thereof (via habits, addictions, and defense mechanisms of every stripe). Let us say that this last costs $50 per day. Therefore one must carefully expend the other half of one’s daily endowment to maintain one’s beingness – eating, sleeping, etc.

I envision healing in this context to be the equivalent of gaining greater vitality and power through healing the vicious metastasis of old shame, shame-avoidance (created to hide, obviate, or deflect the effects of the shame), and the usual variety of addictions most individuals practice. (I include in this category all manner of fundamentalism, personality rigidity, and other fear-driven responses that suppress full vitality in an individual). The net result of healing old traumas would be an increase in one’s daily income of $50 (in this example) – actually and effectively doubling the amount of money one has to spend in pursuit of one’s chosen desire and interests.

One does not draw money in a healthy manner by obsessing over it. One draws money by actually embracing one’s own value, by embodying a sense of value, of feeling valuable and worthwhile. Otherwise money is just another addiction like any other. Most of the people on this planet (especially the ultra-rich oligarchs) are obsessed with money and temporal power as symbols of worth and value. To the extent that they lack self-worth, they acquire money through manipulation and deceit, through some “authorized” mechanism built into the current system of disparity and delusion. It may be the biggest delusion of all that most of humanity is trapped into the belief that value or self-worth, Reality itself, is located outside of one’s self – and therefore obtainable through manipulation and greed. The extremely classist system in which we live is, in fact, nothing more than a re-creation of the medieval system of nobles and serfs. It is funded by the same manner of thinking, which is neo-Darwinian and posits social worth and value on possessions; and further, makes the ownership of private property the basis upon which to place value. There is no inherent value to any human (or for that matter, animal or any other) life. The only value is in ownership and the power to manipulate the system for one’s personal gain.

To the extent that one fails to value oneself (and the reasons are legion), one may live a life of penury and misery. This may be especially so if (more usually when) on defends one’s perpetrators as having been “good parents” (or any similar excuse). Most people live their lives defending their disabilities or inabilities; or living in such a way as to defend or ameliorate the damage wrought by abusive and damaging childrearing. Shame avoidance spreads across the spectrum, and includes all addictions, which are, in turn, exploited by the exploiters of the system – which in turn has been set up and manipulated by those who seek power over others through exploiting their weaknesses and addictions, all the while claiming that they themselves are morally superior, hence their higher social and financial position (neo-Darwinism).

The same I have said of money may easily apply to other addictions. To the extent I lack personal value, real and true love and empathic understanding and forgiveness for myself and my position in life, I will devalue and sabotage myself and my life in various (and often subtle ways) so that I seem to not have that which I desire (e.g., money, thinness, etc). I will then blame my lack of having what I want on not having what I want (“If I only had enough money”). Whereas in actuality, having what one wants must accord with being what one wants! This includes a deeply working sense of well-being and self-esteem that mirrors an examined and thoroughly cleansed life path history. If one does not truly feel valuable, it will be impossible for one to be valued by the Universe. One may obsessively seek money, or bemoan one’s lack of it, but, unless one genuinely feels valuable and worthy of receiving valuables, one will only do so under extraordinary circumstances and by manipulation. Money, and more importantly valuing, will not and cannot come to one. It is impossible in the holographic Universe (in which everything is a mirror for everything). One draws to oneself what one is magnetically. Therefore one always has what one wants despite the appearance or disavowal to the contrary. One’s inner state is always reflected in one’s outer state.

It is quite easy for one who is overweight, for example, to bemoan this fact, and blame all of one’s life difficulties on this condition. But, if one were to deeply examine one’s inner drives and expiate the inner forces that contribute to the need for the extra weight, one would eventually lose the weight as unnecessary. It cannot be accomplished from the outside in. This is why diets always fail, and statistically 99% of people who lose weight gain it back (and more) (citation?). This accounts for the vast advertising of and exploitation by the manufacturers of various diet programs, pills, machines et cetera – all of them guaranteeing that their product will work and one will lose weight. Bullshit!
The desire to lose weight is driven by the desire to be (or at least appear to be) sexy and desirable – ultimately the desire to feel worthy, beautiful and accepted by others – shame! This also feeds the cosmetic surgical industry. Individuals who feel an inner lack are constantly attempting to ameliorate it through external means. This may in fact constitute the greatest delusion of humanity: that Reality is outside of the self rather than inside.

This does, of course, assume some fundamental ideas that are not in the common lexicon, if you will – especially since most people believe in the externality of reality, the value of money, and outer appearance generally. If one obviates these, one is relegated to the position of being called a fool at best, or delusional oneself! The simple and obvious question is: How well is your belief system working? This is where the shame and the blame of the external as cause begin: “If only I had more money” versus “If only I had more self-worth.” The latter position points to one examining oneself and utilizing what one finds to be deficient as a springboard to self-healing. Net worth does not equal self-worth. It never will, yet most of humanity has been convinced that the former is so, or at least possible.